Reading Ahead: June 2017, part 3

One of these days, it's actually going to start feeling a little summery here in CT. And when it does? You'll be prepared with a great read to toss in your beach bag! Like one of these...

The Ultimatum, by Karen Robards. First in a proposed new series from bestseller Robards (Darkness, 2016, etc.), The Ultimatum introduces readers to Bianca St. Ives, aka The Guardian, a skilled martial artist and explosives specialist who makes her living in the family business: swindling con men out of their ill-gotten gains. Until a mission goes wrong, with millions missing and her father a casualty. Except the government is convinced her father is alive, and they want to use Bianca as bait to lure him out of hiding. Fans of Robert Ludlum's Bourne series, check this one out.

Dangerous Minds, by Janet Evanovich. Second in Evanovich's new Knight and Moon series (following the series debut, Curious Minds, 2016). Brilliant and boyishly charming Emerson Knight likes nothing better than solving an unsolvable, improbable mystery. And finding a Buddhist monk's missing island of solitude is better than Christmas morning in the Knight household. When clues lead to a dark and sinister secret that is being guarded by the National Park Service, Emerson will need to assemble a crack team for help. Since a crack team isn’t available, he enlists Riley Moon and his cousin Vernon. A ragtag team indeed, they work to unravel a conspiracy a hundred years in the making. Also available in Large Print.

Kiss Carlo, by Adriana Trigiani. Beloved by readers, Trigiani (Big Stone Gap, The Shoemaker's Wife, etc.) returns to what she knows, and what her readers adore: the story of an Italian-American family on the cusp of change. It’s 1949 and South Philadelphia bursts with opportunity during the post-war boom. The Palazzini Cab Company & Western Union Telegraph Office, owned and operated by Dominic Palazzini and his three sons, is flourishing. But a decades-long feud that split Dominic and his brother Mike and their once-close families sets the stage for a re-match. From the dreamy mountaintop village of Roseto Valfortore in Italy, to the vibrant streets of South Philly, to the close-knit enclave of Roseto, Pennsylvania, to New York City during the birth of the golden age of television, this is a story of family, love, and hope that fans are sure to cherish. Also available in Large Print.